School bus vandalism strands Longueuil students

2 teenagers are facing charges including breaking and entering, and vandalism

Two teenage suspects are in police custody after a late night vandalism spree in Longueuil, Que., that left more than 50 school buses damaged and hundreds of students stranded Friday morning.

Longueuil police spokesman Marc David said the teens, aged 15 and 17, face charges including breaking and entering and vandalism after buses parked inside a fenced Longueuil depot on Jacques-Cartier Boulevard had their windows smashed and doors broken. Fire extinguishers were also emptied inside the vehicles.

"This amount of damage, we've never seen that before," David told CBC News.

According to the Marie-Victorin school board, the spree left students from 31 public primary and secondary schools, and six private schools, without their usual ride to school.

“There are children on all corners of the street,” one parent tweeted Friday morning.

Schools in the Marie-Victorin school board remained open despite the large number of students stranded by the vandalism.

The situation left parents and school officials scrambling for alternative transportation to school and back. In some cases, school officials and teaching staff drove students home or stayed with them until their parents could come to get them.

Longueuil police also deployed extra units to ensure children got home safely.